Broadway In Chicago will honor the late, legendary Broadway producer and theatre owner James M. Nederlander by renaming the Oriental Theatre as the James M. Nederlander Theatre.

As founder of Broadway in Chicago, Mr. Nederlander was a champion of Chicago’s Downtown Theatre District. The new marquee and signage will be unveiled February 12, 2019, with the opening of Dear Evan Hansen.

“In 1954, James M. Nederlander had faith in Chicago as a long-run theatre town and has supported Chicago getting the best of Broadway since then. He brought his shows to the finest theatres in Chicago including the Blackstone, the Studebaker, the Shubert and the Michael Todd, and in creating Broadway In Chicago, changed the landscape of Chicago theatre, making this great city one of the most successful commercial homes for Broadway outside of New York. Renaming the theatre gives us a way to say thank you and to acknowledge the extraordinary difference he made for Chicago in his lifetime,” Lou Raizin, president of Broadway In Chicago, said in a statement.

James L. Nederlander, now president of The Nederlander Organization, added, “The renaming of the theatre on Randolph, in honor of my father, is something he would have been so proud of, as he had a love for Chicago that manifested in his steadfast support of Chicago’s theatre community until the day he died. I am lucky to have inherited his love for Chicago and I am moved by this acknowledgment of his work on Broadway and his commitment to Chicago as a beacon for theatre across the country.”

The late James M. Nederlander was a visionary theatrical impresario who built his family business into one of the largest private live entertainment companies in the world that now encompasses venue ownership and management, theatrical producing and concert presentation, merchandising, concessions and patron services, including Broadway in Chicago.

James M. Nederlander Receives Schoenfeld Vision Award

James M. Nederlander Receives Schoenfeld Vision Award

The second Schoenfeld Vision for Arts in Education Award was presented to James M. Nederlander, Chairman of The Nederlander Producing Company of America, at a May 17 gala event held in the Marriott Marquis' Broadway Ballroom. Read the Playbill.com story.